# Failed prophecies of the end of the world 1966-1999

1967

- August 20, 1967, would mark the beginning of the third woe of the Apocalypse, during which the southeastern US would be destroyed by a Soviet nuclear attack, according to the UFO prophet George Van Tassel, who claimed to have channeled an alien named Ashtar.
- Jim Jones, the founder of the Peoples Temple, stated he had visions that a nuclear holocaust was to take place in 1967.
- When the city of Jerusalem was reclaimed by the Jews in 1967, prophecy watchers declared that the "Time of the Gentiles" had come to an end.

1969

- George Williams, the founder of the Church of the Firstborn, predicted the Second Coming of Christ would occur August 9, 1969.
- Charles Manson predicted that an apocalyptic race war would occur in 1969 and ordered the Tate-LaBianca murders in an attempt to bring it about. Manson based his prediction on his interpretation of The Beatles self-titled album.

1970

- The True Light Church of Christ incorrectly forecasted the return of Jesus. Some church members had quit their livelihoods ahead of the promised advent.

1972

- Herbert W. Armstrong's second of three revised dates after his 1936 and 1943 predictions failed to come true.

1973

- David Berg (renamed Moses David), the leader of Children of God, predicted a huge doomsday event heralded by Comet Kohoutek sometime between January 11 and 21, 1973.

1975

- From 1966 on, Jehovah's Witnesses published articles which stated that the fall of 1975 would be 6000 years since man's creation, and suggest that Armageddon could be finished by then.
- Armstrong's fourth and final false prediction.
- A dire famine was forecast for 1975 by climate change experts.

1977

- John Wroe again predicted the Millennium would begin this year.
- William M. Branham predicted the Rapture would occur no later than 1977.
- One prophecy prognosticator linked the killer bee scare to Rev 9:3-12.

1980

- In 1978 Leland Jensen predicted that there would be a nuclear disaster in 1980, followed by two decades of conflict, culminating in God's Kingdom being established on earth.

1981

- The founder of Calvary Chapel predicted the generation of 1948 would be the last generation, and that the world would end by 1981. Smith identified that he "could be wrong" but continued to say in the same sentence that his prediction was "a deep conviction in my heart, and all my plans are predicated upon that belief."
- Hal Lindsey boldly declared that "The Rapture" would occur before Dec. 31, 1981 based on Christian prophesy, astronomy and a dash of ecological fatalism. He pegged the date to Jesus' promise to return to Earth a generation after Israel's rebirth. He also made references to the "Jupiter Effect," a planetary alignment that occurs every 179 years, that would supposedly lead to earthquakes and nuclear plant meltdowns.

1982

- Tara Centers ran full-page ads in many newspapers April 24--25, 1982, stated that "The Christ is Now Here!" and that he would make himself known "within the next two months".
- John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann stated in their 1974 book The Jupiter Effect that the combined gravitational forces of aligned planets would create numerous catastrophes, including a great earthquake on the San Andreas Fault on March 10, 1982.
- Benjamin Creme took out an ad in the Los Angeles stating the Second Coming would occur on June 21, 1982, with the Maitreya announcing it on worldwide television.
- In late 1976, Pat Robertson predicted that the end of the world would come in 1982.

1984-1999

- In 1983, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Guru of the Rajneesh movement, predicted massive destruction on earth, including natural disasters and man-made catastrophes. There would be floods larger than any since Noah, extreme earthquakes, very destructive volcano eruptions, nuclear wars, etc. Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bombay will all disappear.

1984

- Jehovah's Witnesses again predicted the return of Christ in this year.

1985

- Lester Sumrall predicted the end in 1985, even writing a book about it entitled I Predict 1985.

1986

- David Berg of The Children of God predicted that the Battle of Armageddon would take place in 1986. Russia would defeat Israel and the United States. A worldwide Communist dictatorship would be established. In 1993, Christ would return to earth.

1987

- Leland Jensen predicted that Halley's Comet would be pulled into Earth's orbit on April 29, 1988, causing widespread destruction.
- Jose Argüelles claimed that Armageddon would take place unless 144,000 people gathered in certain places in the world in order to "resonate in harmony" on August 17, 1987.
- The Harmonic Convergence planned for Aug. 16-17, 1987, and several New Age events were to occur at that time. The second coming of the serpent god of peace and the Hopi dance awakening were two examples.

1988

- Edgar C. Whisenant predicted in his book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988 that the Rapture of the Christian Church would occur between 11 and 13 September 1988. After his September predictions failed to come true, Whisenant revised his prediction date to October 3, 1988.

1989

- After all his 1988 predictions failed to come true, Whisenant revised his prediction date to September 30, 1989.
- Climate change experts predicted in 1969 that everyone would disappear in a cloud of blue steam by 1989.

1990

- Elizabeth Clare Prophet predicted a nuclear war would start on April 23, 1990, with the world ending 12 years later, leading her followers to stockpile a shelter with supplies and weapons. Later, after the Prophet's prediction did not come to pass, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

1991

- Menachem Mendel Schneerson called for the Messiah to come by the start of the Jewish New Year on September 9, 1991.
- Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, declared that the Gulf War would be the "War of Armageddon, which is the final war."
- A group in Australia predicted Jesus would return through the Sydney Harbor at 9:00 am on 31st March 1991.

1992

- Rollen Stewart predicted the Rapture would take place on September 28, 1992.
- Lee Jang Rim, the leader of the Dami Mission church, predicted the Rapture would occur on October 28, 1992, using numerology as the basis for the date. Several camera shots that left ghostly images on pictures were thought to be a supernatural confirmation of the date.

1993

- David Berg predicted the tribulation would start in 1989 and that the Second Coming would take place in 1993.
- Multiple prophecy writers figured that if the year 2000 is the end of the 6000-year cycle, then the rapture must take place in 1993 because you would need 7 years of the tribulation.

1994

- Jehovah's Witnesses predict that Armageddon would occur 80 years after 1914 when they made their first prediction.
- This Bahá'í sect leader predicted that New York would be destroyed by a nuclear bomb on March 23, 1994, and the Battle of Armageddon would take place 40 days later on May 2, 1994.
- Harold Camping predicted the Rapture would occur on September 6, 1994. When it failed to occur, he revised the date to September 29 and then to October 2 of the same year.
- F.M. Riley in the book 1994 The Year of Destiny foretold of God's plan to rapture His people.
- John Hinkle announced he had received a vision of God that warned of an apocalyptic event on June 9th, 1994. Hinkle, quoting God, said, "On Thursday June the 9th, I will rip the evil out of this world."

1995

- In 1992, David Koresh of the Branch Davidian group in Waco, Texas changed the name of their commune from Mt. Carmel to Ranch Apocalypse because of his belief that the final all-encompassing battle of Armageddon mentioned in the Bible would start at the Branch Davidian compound. They had calculated that the end would occur in 1995. After a 51-day standoff, on April 10, 1993, 76 members died as a result of a deliberately set fire.
- Harold Camping's fourth predicted date for the end. This would be Camping's last prediction until 2011.

1996

- Sheldan Nidle predicted that the world would end on December 17, 1996, with the arrival of 16 million spaceships and a host of angels. Nidle explained the passing of the date by claiming the angles placed us in a holographic projection to preserve us and give us a second chance.

1997

- Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate cult, claimed that a spacecraft was trailing the Comet Hale-Bopp and argued that suicide was "the only way to evacuate this Earth" so that the cult members' souls could board the supposed craft and be taken to another "level of existence above human". Applewhite and 38 of his followers committed mass suicide on March 26, 1997
- Dan Millar and Bob Wadsworth predicted the arrival of the Antichrist on April 10, 1997, based on astronomical observations. The Antichrist was expected to come to power in the Vatican as Pope Peter II. One heavenly indicator is the intersection of two comets of the star Algol in the constellation Perseus. Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp intersected the star on the same date in two adjacent years (Hyakutake in 1996 and Hale-Bopp in 1997). Plotting the two comets' trajectories from April 1 to April 30 on the two years forms an almost perfect cross. They intersect between the eyes of the Medusa head that Perseus is holding in his left hand. "Algol" means "Demon Star" in Arabic. The head is known as Rosh Satan (the head of Satan) in Hebrew. Also, on the evening of April 10, there will be a lunar occultation of the star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus.
- An Irish archbishop named James Ussher in 1658 estimated that the first day of creation occurred on October 23, 4004, BC. This would make the time interval between the creation of the world and a common estimate of the birth of Christ to be precisely 4000 years. He also estimated that the end of the world would occur exactly 6000 years later, on October 23, 1997.
- Many saw the peace pact between Arafat and Rabin on the White House lawn on September 13, 1993, as the beginning of the tribulation, and therefore Daniel's 1260 days landing on February 24, 1997.
- The Vortex of the Star of David religious sect predicted the end of the world on Saturday, March 8, 1997. They did not have a doomsday scenario.
- Aum Shinri Kyo, a Japanese religious sect of 3000 members located at the base of Mt. Fuji, predicted the end of the world in 1997. The words "shinri kyo" mean "supreme truth" and in English, it is known as Aum Supreme Truth.
- A Jewish group called the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement were expected to attempt placing the cornerstone of a new temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Rapture Ready home page had predicted that the "Tribulation" would be triggered by that event. Previous attempts had failed, either because of riots or police action. There was one report that they were going to try to airlift the stone by helicopter this time. On October 20, several thousand police officers were deployed throughout Jerusalem; they successfully prevented access to the Temple Mount.
- The Sacerdotal Knights of National Security reported that "A space alien captured at a UFO landing site in eastern Missouri cracked under interrogation by the CIA and admitted that an extraterrestrial army will attack Earth on November 27 with the express purpose of stripping our planet of every natural resource they can find a use for -- and making slaves of every man, woman, and child in the world!"

1998

- Edgar Casey predicted that the earth would have a new pole during the winter of 1997-1998. Since the earth spins like a gyroscope, this would take an enormous amount of energy. That amount of energy would cause a massive disruption to the oceans and the earth's crust. That could, in turn, cause severe, worldwide tidal waves, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
- Hon-Ming Chen, leader of the Taiwanese cult God's Salvation Church, or Chen Tao ("The True Way") claimed that God would come to Earth in a flying saucer at 10:00 am on March 31, 1998. Moreover, God would have the same physical appearance as Chen himself. Chen chose to base his cult in Garland, Texas, because he thought it sounded like "God's Land." On March 25, God was to appear on Channel 18 on every TV set in the US.
- Because 666 times three equals 1998 some people pointed to 1998 as being a prophetically significant year.
- On Apr 30, 1998, when Israel's new nation turned 50, The tribulation would start. The reasoning for this date had to do with God's age requirement for priesthood, which is between 30-50.
- Marilyn Agee in her book The End of the Age predicted the end of the world on May 31, 1998. This date will conclude the 6000-year cycle from the time of Adam. Agee looked for the Rapture to take place on Pentecost and that the Holy Spirit did not descend upon the until 50 days from Christ's resurrection before descending on the Church. She continued her date setting by using various scripture references to pointing to June 7, 14, and 21 when the first one failed.
- Centro predicted that the world will come to an end in 1998 and recommended that their followers retreat to safe places.
- Edgar Cayce predicted that a secret underground chamber would be discovered between the paws of the Great Sphinx. Inside, there will be documents revealing the history of Atlantis. This revelation will trigger the Second Coming of Christ.
- The Church of the Subgenius predicts that on "X Day" on July 5th, 1998 the end of the world will occur. At that time, "the Men from Planet X, or XISTS, will arrive at Earth, close a deal with "Bob," rupture the card-carrying Ordained SubGenii up to the Escape Vessels of the Sex Goddesses, and destroy the remaining population of Earth extremely slowly. Bob is J.R. Dobbs, leader and High Epopt of the Church of the SubGenius, Living Avatar of Slack, the Saint of Sales. He was responsible for founding the Church on a shifting, sandy beach of hypocrisy.
- The House of Yahweh, Abilene, predicted that an end-of-world scenario will start during October 1998. By mid-2001, 80% of the world's population will have been killed as a result of nuclear warfare.

1999

- Russian scientist Vladimir Sobolyovhas of the Rerikh Academy has analyzed prophesies made by Russian saints, Nostradamus, etc. He announced his conclusions in September 1997 that the earth's axis will suddenly tilt about 30 degrees sometime during the next two years. This will submerge the Scandinavian countries and Britain underwater, in what is termed the Armageddon Flood. Siberia will be spared. He expects that aliens will intervene and lead the world into the fourth dimension. Currently, these aliens are on earth, but in hiding. Sobolyovhas said: "If we completely believed in them, we would get lazy. So they are clever. They stay hidden in the fourth dimension and only show themselves occasionally.''
- Charles Criswell King said in 1968 that the world as we know it will cease to exist on August 18, 1999.
- A prediction attributed to Nostradamus stating the "King of Terror" would come from the sky in "1999 and seven months" led to fears of the end.
- Philip Berg, dean of the worldwide Kabbalah Centre, stated that on September 11, 1999 "a ball of fire will descend, destroying almost all mankind, all vegetation, all forms of life."
- Kirk Nelson predicted the second coming of Jesus Christ on September 30, 1999, using Edgar Cayce's Predictions in correlation with the Christian Bible.
- Hon-Ming Chen had founded God's Salvation Church in Texas and believed that a nuclear war will destroy parts of Earth in 1999. They identified a nine-year-old boy as the "Jesus of the East", a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. They believe that if they can link him up with the "Jesus of the West" then 100 million lives will be spared. The second Jesus is supposed to live in Vancouver, BC, look like Abraham Lincoln, and have been born in late 1969. Their search was unsuccessful.
- The website CALENdeRsign® listed many astronomical events that would happen as the millennium closed. On August 11, 1999, there would be a total solar eclipse, followed by a total lunar eclipse on January 21, 2000, followed by a triple planetary conjunction in May 2000 involving Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The planetary conjunction happened in 7 BC and is thought by some to be the star that some Gospels mentioned that led the three wise men to Jesus.
- The Branch Davidian sect predicted 5 months of major torment starting on August 6, 1999, as the sixth seal is fulfilled.
- Dotson Meade predicted from information on the Dead Sea Scrolls that something will happen to bring about the war that will end the world as we know it starting December 19, 1999.
- Monte Kim Miller, leader of Concerned Christians, believed he was the last prophet on Earth before Armageddon. He said that America was Satan and the government evil. He predicted he'd die on Jerusalem's streets in December 1999 but would rise from the dead three days later.
- Charles Berlitz predicted the end would occur in 1999. He did not predict how it would occur, stating it may involve nuclear devastation, asteroid impact, pole shift or other earth changes.
- James Gordon Lindsay predicted the tribulation would begin before the year 2000.
- The President of Yale University, Timothy Dwight IV, foresaw Christ's Millennium starting by 2000.
- Nazim Al-Haqqani predicted that the Last Judgment would occur before the year 2000.